I saw Parul Gujral at a talk he gave at Go Block Con in Los Angeles last October where he shared an amazing story about his uncle Sarwan’s journey and how it has shaped his life and inspired him in all that he does. Sarwan, the oldest of 13 children, comes from a farming family in India. Not knowing how he would pay for it he applied to Berkeley University in California, and to much of his surprise was accepted. A thousand villagers came together to pull their money to make his dream come true and send him to university.

Their investment paid off. Parul’s uncle was able to graduate from university and pay the villagers back with interest.

Parul and I talk about his project, Snowball, the first Smart Crypto Investment Automation platform that enables access to curated index style portfolios. They have raised money through seed funding and have decided not to do an ICO based on sound advice.

Their advisors include Reese Jones, Associate Founder at Singularity University, John Dillon, CEO of Salesforce, and Richard Blum,

“We take advice from these folks because success leaves clues.”

Parul says: “Forty per cent of ICOs run out of money within four months of the ICO closing. So, you think these organizations are able to raise tens of millions of dollars, but they lack the business acumen to be able to deliver.”

He explains that using advisors or seeking expert counsel works because there are things that we just don’t want to DIY.

“Would you go on Google if you’re sick and perform a surgical operation on yourself?… Or would you go to a doctor, whose livelihood is the healing arts or practice, who has gone through a vigorous education system who has access to information and resources and tools that the average individual doesn’t have access to.”

I’d go to a doctor, of course! So, his point is that should novice investors be investing on their own or with the advice of those who have experience?

Parul has been learning a lot on his entrepreneurship journey. He talked about meeting John Perry Barlow, lyricist for The Grateful Dead who was speaking at an invite only event. There were some great conversations at this event with successful people who had completely different perspective and opinions. Parul said that through that, JPB taught him that having radical empathy and an open mind could help in understanding “the different elements that go into the polarities of life.”

He went on to talk about entrepreneurship having its ups and downs and that “entrepreneurs, with all odds against us, feel like we can change the world.” He adds a brazen slogan from a partner company, Ring. “We didn’t know we couldn’t do it. So, we did it.”